Klesko struggling after hot start, injury

Posted: Thursday, May 20, 1999

ATLANTA -- Ryan Klesko got off to a fast start this season, hitting .429 in his first nine games, then suffered a hamstring injury and missed seven games.

Atlanta Braves

The time off cooled his bat and he's had trouble rediscovering that stroke. He apparently found it in San Diego, falling a single shy of hitting for the cycle on May 8, but the remainder of the trip was a disaster. He had only three other hits during the three-city tour and finished with a .194 average and four RBI, three RBI coming against the Padres.

''I've been hitting the ball hard, but nothing is falling in except when it goes over the fence,'' he said. ''When I have a good game, usually I line out a couple of times.''

Klesko is in a 5-for-33 skid that's dropped his average to .269 and his home run total stands at five, half of Brian Jordan's total. The primary reason behind his slump is his willingness to swing at pitches off the plate. He spent some time with hitting coach Don Baylor Tuesday and studied some video of his swing from past seasons and says he's feeling more comfortable at the plate.

''My main thing as a power hitter is to wait for a good pitch to drive out of the park,'' Klesko said. ''My pitch selection is getting better. I just have to get my swing back to where it was during the first month of the season. I was comfortable, I wasn't swinging at bad pitches and my swing wasn't long.''

Blister limits Perez's breaking pitches

Odalis Perez says his fastball in Tuesday night's 12-4 victory was his best of the season, but a blister on his pitching hand limited the effectiveness of his breaking pitches.

''I have to use my breaking pitches whether it hurts or not,'' he said.

Perez's problem was a pitch count that mounted so quickly that by the time he finished the fifth inning, he had made 95 pitches. That prevented him from working any deeper into the game and forced the bullpen to shoulder four innings.

''I would like to go out there and throw six or seven innings,'' he said. ''Ninety-five pitches is too many pitches. If Greg Maddux or Tom Glavine have 95 pitches, they're in the seventh or eighth inning. I'll try next time to go six or seven because only going five is too much work for the relievers.''